That Celebrity’s
Millennium, the line’s newest luxury liner -- and the industry’s only cruise ship with elevators that face the sea -- has gone back to the shipyard to fix mechanical problems a few short months after her launch is no longer news to cruisers. The real question is: How will the problem, an unsettling vibration at slow speeds that requires hull modifications, impact Infinity, her long-awaited sister ship?

A cruise line spokeswoman said, confidently, that though Infinity, which is still in its French shipyard and will begin with a transcanal inaugural before settling in Hawaii, will be three weeks late due to the now-necessary hull adaptation, she does not anticipate further delays. She remains firm about the ship’s new arrival date; scheduled initially to launch February 22, it will now begin sailings March 3.

In the meantime, Millennium is being repaired in Norfolk, Virginia, and is slated to begin its revolving East/West Caribbean itineraries on December 17.